ddsrph

I have used these snap together tiles in my garage and this week bought some for my hangar. I got these for $1.60 per sq foot from a company in Cleveland Tennessee (Speedway tile).

scrubbedexpat091

Anyone have knowledge on mini-splits ductless systems?

The primary heat and cooling source is a mini split ductless system. It seems to have trouble warming when the temp outside is below freezing, a couple website says they can work in very cold temps, and then other websites say they do best when the outdoor temps are above 32F.

I ask as we have encountered our first cold snap, its presently 31F outside, and the mini ductless keeps tripping the circuit breakers in the main box.

I have reported the issue to management and waiting for their response.

Just curious if anyone has experience with these types of systems.

The only other heat source are in the bedrooms with electric baseboards but they can't heat the living room on their own.

It's not a name brand mini ductless system, best I can find googling the model number is its some off brand from China.

ddsrph

A good unit in working order should have no problem at that temp. Is it a single head unit meaning just one indoor unit providing heat/cool. It sounds to me like the compressor is failing drawing too much current and tripping the breaker. They will probably replace the whole unit. Heat pumps in general can work down into teens or below. I installed a Trane split unit 1 1/2 ton in my new house with a 5kw resistance backup. I don’t think the 5KW part has ever had to come on and we get down to low teens on cold nites.

zzrmark

I didn't know whether to start a new thread but figured that most of our affected avid DIYers and new home owners find themselves on this one.

How are peeps finding the cost and availability of materials at the moment? Only yesterday my local news station did a piece on the continuing booming house construction industry in our area. What they haven't mentioned, nor any other mainstream news outlet, is that the availability of materials is dire which in turn has rocketed the prices. Vinyl and lumber products seem to be the worst affected.
I pulled some vinyl siding off a place last week while the boss trotted off to our supplier to order some more. Until this summer the outlet held vinyl siding in stock but decided recently to make it a special order item so we expected a two day turnaround. Luckily I had only removed siding from two walls of the shed (as we are going to be doing the whole house) when he came back looking somewhat pale-faced, although I had already chopped the long lengths into short lengths to fit in our trash dumpster. It would appear that we can't get this siding soon, not helped by the run on it from Louisianans busy rebuilding post hurricane.
We cant get it before the end of October...
We can't get it before the end of November...
We can't get it before the end of December...
No, this stuff will be ready in January and then we'll probably be screwed because the large construction firms will have jumped in and used their size leverage to nab first stocks.

All this year we have had issues with getting swift turnaround on windows that we fit in porches, aluminum frames with vinyl (polycarbonate/plexiglas) panes. A ten day order-to-site time is now well over seven weeks and has been much longer.

So, what is happening? I had to dig fairly deep on the Google machine to find any kind of reporting on materials shortages and the reasons behind it. Turns out that a large petrochemical firm decided to use the pandemic shutdowns over the summer to upgrade one of their facilities and the work took weeks longer than planned for. On September 29th the firm announced that they would have to have a 30 day shutdown on top of the earlier closure, delaying production even further. These guys produce the chemicals for the heavier plastics, so if you have future house plans that rely on plastic plumbing, circuit breakers, u-PVC windows, vinyl siding and treated lumber you may have either a long wait and/or pay more than twice what you expected.

ddsrph

Lumber I have bought recently was about double and prices I have seen on OSB and plywood are double or more. My current project is covering in a metal lean to carport on one side of my garage making it a storage building. I have decided to use metal framing and metal siding except vinyl on front to match garage. This is to be my last building project although I have said that before.

Pulaski

I haven't done a lot of siding, but coincidentally I have recently been working on repairing some damaged siding. To get a reasonable colour match I had to custom order the siding, and what should have taken 2-3 days to arrive, ended up taking 2-3 weeks. Then when it arrived, Lowes lost it!

I went late on Saturday evening to collect it, (Lowes closes at 9pm) and arriving around 8.30pm I checked the service desk to have someone fetch it, and I then loaded up a cart with in-stock siding supplies - a new corner molding, window channel, soffit pannels, and soffit channel, when I was told they couldn't find it. I even went with a couple of staff to search the outdoor storage area behind the store, before giving up as it was already past 9pm, to pay for the rest of the supplies at the commecial check out. I was outside load my truck around 9.15pm when one of the staff showed up with the siding. He didn't even have the paperwork to sign, so Lowes has no signed receipt to prove that they handed it over to the person who paid for it!

As I installed the siding I changed my plans, deciding to remove all the siding from one wall and use that to complete the repairs on one side, then use all the new siding around the corner on the other wall, thereby making the slight colour mismatch less obvious. Unfortunately that means I need to order more siding this week. I will report back with my experience. 14x12' pieces had cost me around $102, so another 9-10 pieces should cost around $70.

As this is a Pulaski project I decided to make an upgrade while doing the siding work, and so, as the wall I am completely redoing faces west, and gets strong sun in the late afternoon and evening, I am adding a reflective house wrap behind the siding. When I started the project it happened to be evening when I installed the first section of the reflective wrap, and even though (or perhaps "because") it was mid October I soon noticed that it was a lot warmer standing between the sun and reflective wrap, so I am sure it will help with efficiency during the summer, at the smaller cost of absorbing a little less warmth from the sun during the winter. So @zzrmark, if your home doesn't have reflective house wrap, I recommend that you take a look at it as this might be something that your home would benefit from when you replace the siding?

scrubbedexpat091

Higher demand for lumber + inability to supply all domestic lumber needs + US playing trade games with Canadian lumber and adding countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber = higher prices for US consumers.

Google Canadian softwood lumber dispute.

ddsrph

I have done a fair amount of siding and have always used Sheetrock screws with #10 washers to hold it on. The coarse treaded ones about one inch long. A battery drill can put them in just tight enough to hold siding but allow it to slide back and forth for temperature contraction and expansion. What I have put up has always stayed straight and had zero problems.

username.exe

I've been de-doing all of my fences over the last 18 months, and have watched the prices creep up steadily over that period, (for cedar and redwood, at least). I asked the guy at the lumber yard if it had anything to do with Trump's tariffs and he was adamant that it was Obama's fault, nothing to do with Trump lol. The other guy behind the counter was rolling his eyes towards the back of his head.

lansbury

It is not just lumber and building supplies. We have a dual fuel Frigidaire range which started turning off at 375F. It seems to be a faulty control panel which I can replace for $315 for the part. Unfortunately due to COVID this part is out of stock at Frigidaire in the US, with no delivery time frame. Tomorrow I will resume my hunt around appliance service places to see if anyone has one. If not it looks like the only solution is a new range. Of which there are limited choices at this time due to COVID.

RICH

Amazon. Now is probably not the time to brag that I again fixed my fridge/freezer with a $10 part and 10 mins labor. Defrost timer packed up.

Jerseygirl

Hubby did the same when the electronic switches on one of our reclining sofas died. Think it cost around $15/20.

zzrmark

My brick built hovel doesn't have any need for siding, but thanks for the thought.

I haven't used reflective house wrap before, if customers want something to throw back heat we use ThermoPly, which is just a 1/8" hardboard sheet with a reflective face.
I might well consider your recommendation in the future as I only have 15 work days left in Satan's armpit before I relocate to the Greenville/Asheville/Spartanburg triangle and will eventually likely end up in the cheapest abode possible with as much land as the bank will stretch a mortgage on...Until then I'll be squatting on a 30 acre farm, with a brick built ranch house on it, for probably the next two years.

scrubbedexpat091

Someone will come and take a look at it. It's probably defective or just not working correctly.

I never had this sort of system so wasn't really sure how they worked.

I think the thermostat its connected to may also not be working, set at 72 and it just heats and heats and will get to 80F.

Pulaski

Sorry, I missed the "a place" in your previous post, and thought you meant your place. Yeah, reflective insulation board works pretty much the same, though the recommendation in areas with several months of colder weather, such as NC that it is better to install the boards with the reflective side facing inwards. This is where the reflective wrap comes in handy, as you can have the best of both worlds, reflecting heat inwards in winter, and heat from the sun outwards.